In new research combining data from demographic studies, European researchers emphasize the importance of preventing cardiovascular risks for diabetic patients, especially in women who are almost twice as exposed as men.
Diabetes: higher cardiovascular risk in women
Globally, there are more deaths from diabetes in women than in men: 2.1 million against 1.8 million per year.
While type 1 diabetes affects around 10% of the diabetic population, type 2 diabetes affects 90% of diabetics. " The global prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades as the population grows and ages, alongside the increasing burden of overweight and obesity, in both developed and developing countries ," warn doctors who have published research in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology on the long-term complications of diabetes.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and morbidity in people with diabetes, especially those with type 2 diabetes. Overall, there are more deaths from diabetes in women than in men: 2, 1 million against 1.8 million per year. " This excess risk is mainly due to the higher risk of cardiovascular death in women, " said the study.
Women with diabetes are 1.81 times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than women without diabetes. Diabetes patients in particular are 1.8 times more likely to develop peripheral arterial disease than men with diabetes. Common in type 2 diabetic patients, peripheral arterial disease (also called atherosclerosis) corresponds to lipids deposited in the arteries.
A more common specific form of diabetes may increase heart failure
Diabetic women are also five times more likely to develop heart failure than non-diabetic women. For comparison, men with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart failure as men without diabetes.
The higher risk of heart failure in women could be explained by a specific form of diabetes, generally less common in men, called heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction. In this case, the heart maintains its pumping function, but with increased stiffness, which results in less effective relaxation after contraction.
The study authors recommend (both women and men) to follow the official recommendations to prevent or reverse the risks associated with type 2 diabetes: stop smoking, exercise regularly, limit your consumption of alcohol, monitor your calorie intake, etc.
Source: http://rehabcure.org/physiotherapy/physiotherapists/knee-joint-pain-treatment/